Around her, the bottles stood, mostly empty now. The days of wine and song were gone. The world had changed. She was alone now, the last of her species to survive the latest round up. She’d been too old to be of any service, the soldiers had said as they left her standing naked in the street. Letting her mind play out last night, when the tavern had been overfilled, overly loud, and over-the-top cheerful considering that they all knew it was their last night on earth. She’d spent the morning cleaning and righting each and every bottle, as if by doing so, she could keep the hope alive.
108w
Braided Stars 
A sad tale. I could imagine a reaction to the situation like hers. Too stunned to do anything else. A fascinating take on the prompt.
thanks. Been a while since I had the time to come out and play in my word garden.
Let’s hope his stays just a story! On the positive side, the bottles are not totally empty so a farewell cocktail is a consideration.
Gotta love sci fi. You can do whatever you want with it.
The ritual of cleaning, cleansing and straightening as a way to cope with something that can’t really be coped with is well-described and something many people do, whether with bottles or something else. A sad story. Welcome back, by the way. 🙂
“Roundup”, when used in this sense is one word, so you can play with an extra one if you like.
Have a wonderful Saturday,
janet
Thanks for the welcome back, and the comments. As usual with this challenge, I hit it cold turkey and just start typing, no editing, just off the cuff. It’s so liberating to do it that way. Glad you enjoyed it, and yes, it is a common reaction to shock/trauma/grief. There is some satisfaction found in gaining just a small bit of control in an uncontrolable circumstance.
Speaking of which, I’m off to clean house so that it’s spiffy when “The Call” comes about my fatherinlaw.
Very powerful imagery. I enjoyed it, because it made me think: Were all the others taken by the planets inhabitants, or some other species? Does she live longer by being left behind? Will she find others like herself so as not to be alone? So many questions are generated by your little gem. I love stories that are written well enough to have an ending that leaves the reader room for speculation about the future. Well done!
I love writing story prompts, so to say. The open ended, let the readers mind, and/or writing talent take it from there. Glad you enjoyed it. Good questions you ask, too. Enjoy!
Very well done, darling. Last Woman On Earth. You mentioned “last of her species”… did you have sci-fi in mind here? As in, invaders from another planet? Or am I misreading it?
Yes, sci fi…it’s what I usually write. Could also be seen metaphorically as the last of a particular breed of woman, I suppose.
I’d pictured a “To Serve Man” type situation, but then, space invaders coming to use us for food has been a secret dread of mine ever since I saw that famous Twilight Zone episode.
There’s a TwilightZone like this? Wow! That’s cool. Now, I’ll have to go find the episode and watch/listen to it. I have a new set of TZ on cd that I’ve been listening to on the 4 hour commute to and from hospital to be with dad
I posted two pieces for Friday Fictioneers this week. You might enjoy this:
http://julesinflashyfiction.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/bottleneck-friday-fictioneers-just-jules/
As there is a glimmer of hope…
Sci-fi allows us to project our own reality. I know it is not easy waiting for the other shoe to drop – so-to-speak. I’ve two family members who have challenging medical needs. But we are looking forward to a new family member this summer. One day at a time.
Thanks. The other shoe dropped this morning with news that they can’t do a surgery to put in a feeding tube. I don’t see dad surviving another week at this point. I’ll drop by and give your entry a read.
This is superb.
Absolutely loved it.
Thanks!
Dear Buffalo,
Nice to see you back. Sorry about what you’ve gone through. I find writing cathartic.
Nice piece with an austere feel to it. Love the last line.
Shalom,
Rochelle
As always, Rochelle, I we are in agreement. I do find writing very cathartic. Although, what I’ve been writing these last few weeks seriously scares even me. Been tipping my hand a little bit of horror – psychological horror, that is. I put it on a seperate blog here…it’s just too spooky, even for me.
Such a very chilling story. Really sad and horrifying at the same time.
Thanks, Sandra. 🙂 Loved your piece, too!
The sense of desolation in your story is almost overwhelming. Really well told.
Thanks. I know the feeling all too well, it was way too easy to write.
I do love sci-fi and that was well-inspired!
Scott
Mine: http://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/friday-fictioneers-5102013-genre-horror-humor-pg13/
thanks, Kindred! I enjoyed yours as well.
“The days of wine and song were gone” really brought out the desolation for me. Had I been in her shoes, I think I would have cleaned and straightened, too. Some deep-seated need to be in control of SOMETHING in even the most uncontrollable situations.
I try to avoid completely cliche statements like that, but that song was just stuck in my head as I started to write and it just popped out. It fit so well that I really didn’t want to change it.
Sometimes, I think a cliche is necessary! It wouldn’t have become a cliche if it weren’t a darn good line. 🙂
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This sounds like it should be a full length novel… You have captured my interest, now continue please.
Perhaps, someday. Got too many works in progress at the moment.
Thank you, everyone for all your encouragement. I hope to get an early start this week before hell descends on our family. We don’t expect Dadinlaw to be with us much more than a week, now. The desolation you heard in this piece is so genuine right now. HEaring from you helped me to get through just one more day in the shadows. Thank you!